Anna (VRAYU): Now is the time to make yourself known to the world

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Russian version

We know that you have been through a lot of changes over the past year, please tell us about them.

Yes, we have had a lot of changes. Everything has probably changed with us. And most importantly, what has changed is that since the middle of last summer we began to focus on delivery. We began to get more creative with delivery, stimulate more people, and at that time no one else did it. It’s more convenient for people at home, and the helmets we use are mobile. We were the first to start actively promoting VR with home delivery, and now it has flourished. This is the first thing.

We’ve got completely different helmet models. They are innovative and, in my opinion, this is really something! You can play active games, the controller is not needed, you can control the menu with your own hands. That is, they combine the advantages of both massive helmets and portable ones. This is the second point.

The third. We have opened many exclusive representative offices. In Smolensk, in St. Petersburg, in Novosibirsk, in Rostov-on-Don.

The most important thing that happened this year is that we created our own application, which is called “VRAYU” (“In Paradise”). And it is also available for our helmets. The application accelerated video downloads, and it has for example, the eye-control function. Imagine – your eyes are like a cursor. In addition, several resources are connected at once, automatic login, no need to enter a login and a password. A very large variety of stories, for completely different people with different preferences. And all this is very fast, convenient and easy. We also sell it separately for people who already have a VR. That is, we are becoming more than just a rental service or a helmets store, namely an IT company. I am extremely happy about this.

As the quarantine ends, we will invite you for a test. You will be shocked at how much everything leaped forward. Naturally, this is not only our merit, since the VR industry is developing very quickly, with leaps and bounds. Just the day before yesterday, it was in this helmet that I just participated in the conference. You will say what it is, now we all participate in conferences, both in zoom and in Skype. But it was just a VR conference. These are absolutely bombing sensations. You create yourself an avatar there, like in the Sims, and you can move around, approach different people. It’s like in real life completely. That is, people there are drinking coffee somewhere, you approach a person, you hear him or her better, you go away and you hear someone else. First there was a coffee break, then we all gathered on the stage, someone acts, someone leaves. This is a future where you do not have to be physically present, but you are there. This is what we will all come to, it seems to me. The current situation hints on this.

The future is already here with us, it's amazing! Let's try to go further. You have already listed the cities in which your franchise exists. And suddenly in other cities there are interested entrepreneurs, how can they find out the terms of the franchise?

Everything is very simple. Visit our website, there is a section “for partners”, “about the “VRAYU” franchise and leave a request. A corresponding offer is sent to everyone. We have now created a more flexible format. Our franchise, for example, includes marketing and promotion. But if you are a famous person and promote yourself and you want such a franchise, then we will give you a discount.

I know for sure that you dealt with the issue of using virtual reality by people with disabilities. What can virtual reality give them and what are you doing in this direction?

It seems to me that we are all with disabilities now. With the help of VR you can walk around the world, just travel. Everything is made in VR, and you can watch the whole world. That is, a person who cannot physically get somewhere can feel it so real that we all become not with limited, but with full-fledged capabilities.

Another example. My friends are engaged in exoskeletons for people with disabilities, these are people who have a chance to recover. They are treated with VR. They learn to walk in VR, because their brain remembers how to do it, activates the necessary neurons, then they walk with the exoskeleton, and then they walk on their own.

Or, for example, in May I was supposed to make a report at Moscow State University. I have a study that VR is able to cure impotence and erectile dysfunction, or, in any case, reduce it if it is due to psychological reasons. This is another VR application. VR immerses you in such an environment that you really become like a superman. Therefore, any features that were previously unavailable to you, except, perhaps, tactile, become possible in VR.

What other features of virtual reality are in demand now? Travel, education, conferences?

One of the most sensational deals this month is the deal between Apple and Next VR. Apple bought for $100 million the most famous service of VR-broadcasts. As far as I understand, they want to VR-broadcast football matches. It has now in a great demand. I myself have recently been at a VR concert.

One of my colleagues was very interested in our application, and he wants us to organize a VR-shooting of his event. I cannot disclose the details, only I can say it is a major event. VR filming, VR broadcasting is on the rise now. The second thing on the rise is multiplayer games. Third – VR conferences. That is, when you see another person, albeit in a different guise, and you interact with him: shake hands and all. Well, and VR for adults, naturally, because this is the part that pushes any technology forward. Suffice it to say that 2 of the 5 most popular sites are dedicated to VR for adults.

This is the situation in the country now, we are all forced to isolate ourselves, we all have limited opportunities. Has VR demand increased in this situation?

When it all just started, the people began to panic, and the demand fell sharply. But then it began to grow confidently. In the first two weeks there was a calm-down, and then there was a great rise. In addition, and it pleases me, they finally began to actively buy our application too. And people from other countries too. Maybe because they got their hands on it, because really, the demand for VR has soared.

How do you resolve the issue of safety when delivering helmets?

This is the most popular question. I will tell you everything. Firstly, it is all treated with chlorhexidine. Secondly, there are those silicone linings, they are also processed with ultraviolet light, disinfected, stored in a sealed bag which are opened before the client. That is, first the specialist shows the client how the helmet works, then opens the package, puts on the linings and hands it to the client. Our experts, of course, wear masks and disposable gloves.

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